Changing Retail: How Can Brands Connect?

In the HBR, some essential thoughts ... are old ideas but worth repeating.

How Consumer Brands Can Connect with Customers in a Changing Retail Landscape  by Robert Haslehurst, Chris Randall, Noor Abdel-Samed

When news broke earlier this year about Amazon’s courtship of some of the world’s biggest consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands, it touched off a wave of speculation. Was the e-commerce giant engaged in a long game to alter the relationships between consumer goods makers and their brick-and-mortar retail partners?

However it plays out, Amazon’s outreach exposed a digital divide in the consumer products world. On one side is the growing interest of brands in direct-to-consumer (D2C) models. On the other side are persistent worries about conflict — not just with traditional distribution channels but also with retailers carrying the brand. To bridge this gap, we’ve identified seven tactics that pioneering brands have used to arrive at an effective digital strategy:  ...... 

 ... So someday soon, digital agility will be as important to consumer brands as traditional capabilities like brand-building, new product development, and distribution. What that digital response looks like will vary from brand to brand. For now, product makers can look to retailers and innovative brands for lessons in ways to balance universal best practices with choices that are authentic to the brand, the evolving consumer purchase process, and the specific channel environment.  ....  "